daily IMPACT by selahV

WHEN WE ARE THIRSTY

we may not need what we think we need.

When we need a friend, we may need to be a friend.

When we need comfort, we may need to comfort another.

When we need encouragement, we may need to encourage another.

When we need love, we may need to love another.

When we need acceptance, we may need to accept another.

When we need mercy, we may need to be merciful.

When we need forgiveness, we may need to forgive someone.  WHY?

Because God says: "he that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25  SO......

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Give Thanks for THIS?

Ever feel like asking that?  You read your Bible verse for the day:

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:15

"In all circumstances?" That's a very hard saying to comprehend, sometimes.  When the the car breaks down, the electricity is shut off, the computer goes beserk?  When your husband is laid off, the insurance bill goes up, and you wish Christmas was twelve months away instead of one.  When medications do not relieve the pain and doctors give you no hope.  Giving thanks is not really on your mind.

It's particularly hard when it comes to relationships:  When we are not able to be with those we love.  When we've lost someone.  When our child is rebellious and seems to hate us--the child we carried in our womb for 9 months, labored to give life to, and raised to walk in the ways of God.  It's hard to be thankful in that circumstance.  One may think: "Surely, you don't mean me, Lord."

How can one be thankful when they are rejected, ignored, or betrayed by a spouse or friend?

How can one be grateful when a chair at the Thanksgiving dinner-table is empty and will never be filled with that missing loved one again?

"Be thankful in all circumstances?" Is it really God's "will" for me to have the heartache I am having?  The difficulty?  Sometimes we wonder how this could be.  I know.  But there is a reason God says for us to be thankful in all circumstances.  For we who know His Son, we have a greater hope.  We have a greater blessing.  We have a permanent future-- one filled with joy-- without pain, sorrow, and heartache.  This thing we deal with today: the grief, loneliness, rejection, or the fleeting fear.  This too shall pass.  We are sojourners in a foreign land.  This earth is not our home.  We may not be thankful for the circumstances, but for the fact that Christ is with us in, and during the circumstances.  God understands our pain.  His grace is sufficient to meet our needs. As we turn our eyes toward Him and his goodness, our circumstances pale in significance.  He is so much larger than all our problems.  He is so much greater than all our fears.  He has more love than all the people we know.  And His love never wavers, never rejects, never fails.  So, yes; in this we can be thankful.

Take a few moments and look around you, beyond the looming obstacle of circumstance.  Savor the memories of yesterday; appreciate the blessings of the moment.  Rejoice in tomorrow's hope and eternity's treasures.  selahV

OVERCOME WITH IT ALL

Various fungus-born plants grow beneath the surface of Bermuda grass in our lawn and burst through the earth creating tangles of hard stems which poke our bare and tender feet.  Here and there dandelions and thistles sprout and dot the yard and threaten to take over the flowerbeds. To overcome the invasion of stubborn broad-leaf grass takes vigilance, perseverance and work.  Much work. Sometimes I am overcome with it all.

Just as these things threaten a healthy lawn, so do things we allow into our lives that strangle our hope and rob us of strength to keep growing and going. There are things people do and say that attack our faith to stand when others falter, to walk when others faint.  We must set our sights on the goal to follow Christ's commands...to resist cultural pressures and tolerance for sin, as society attack own families.

As time nears for our Lord's return, we may get discouraged, and falter in our steadfast walk to keep "the works" set before us from our Savior. Yet, we cannot let the world and its ways overcome us.  We must cling to the promises of God.  We must rest in the promises of God.  We must understand and trust the promises of God.  We must keep going.  Walking, talking, teaching, and encouraging one another. For in our walk, we do not walk alone.  We have our Savior's hand.  We have His Holy Spirit as our guide and comforter.

"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I received of my Father.  And I will give him the morning star." Revelation 2:26-28 

"power over the nations?"  I don't know about you, but I cannot imagine having power over much more than my own emotions and desires when I think of being perfected in heaven.  Christ may give me power someday, but I will be happy just to hear Him say, "well done, my good and faithful servant."  Won't you?  selahV

When Arrows Come...

and pierce our souls.  When criticisms are unending.  When we are falsely accused and stand in the chambers of our private thoughts, we are reminded that:  God has done great things; and none is like Him--above or below.  He shows us great troubles sometimes.  But...He also is the One to revive us again as Psalm 71 tells us:

"You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth." vs. 20

More than simply bringing us up from the depths of our despair, and plunking us into the crowded streets of greater adversity, He takes the thousand pieces of hard and broken  pieces of clay and adds His Living Water to our parched, thirsting spirit.  He softens the dry shards of our self-worth in the center of His palms...

kneading, ever-kneading--sometimes gently,

sometimes with great pressure, till we are made anew.

Then we are altogether strengthened by His grace.

Meadows of glory bloom. For what purpose, we sometimes wonder.  Why do You care when I am broken and crushed?  Why do seeds die, then struggle to reach the top of the earth?  To burst forth in glory for the pleasure of You, O, Lord.  You have a plan for each seed that dies and you have a plan for me each time my heart is broken.  From the depths of my pain are pods of stronger seeds to share with others.  To give away.  To flutter in the wind, sometimes.  To be picked up by some passing bluebird and carried across the oceans to land upon a land I've never seen.  And in that land, another meadow begins to grow. selahV

"You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side." vs. 21

Remind me, Father, of the flowers I have found along the way.  

When Words Do Nothing

Ever have a conversation with someone and receive nothing but criticism?  Or everything you say is questioned, judged, or second-guessed?

So you back up and try to figure out why they misunderstand what you say.  You begin to analyze your own words and what you meant by what you said, or wrote?  When you do your best to explain yourself and find yourself with less understanding than you when you begun, it may be time to turn a deaf ear or blind eye.

I love to open an email from someone and see positive statements, and find encouraging words.  I have some great friends who send me uplifting thoughts all the time.  I like to visit blogs that comfort me, assure me, and help me see the goodness in God.  It's how I am.  Most folks are like me.  They want affirmation.  When they share the depths of their hearts, they like wisdom, hope, and kindness returned.  Sometimes people think they know you and no matter how much you share about yourself, they only have a glimpse of who you are...yet, they have an abundance of grace and mercy in their words. 

Every now and then I get a person who boggles my mind.  They interpret things I say in a cloud of mystery.  They judge what I say by what they "think" I'm saying, and when I explain what I mean, they still go back to what they think I meant originally and go on and on about how I couldn't have meant what I said.  It gets so confusing, I lose all desire for conversation.  Sometimes they apologize for saying things that they believe offend and when I fail to answer how they thought I should, they turn that around, too.  Sometimes I wonder if all a person wants to do is dissect and parse words.  This gives me the feeling they don't trust me; that they think I am deceitful or embellishing a situation or circumstance-- that I am simply trying to eat my words by spewing new ones.  When an impasse comes, I figure it's time to just let things be.  Let others think what they want.  Inevitably, when I think the air is cleared on the whole thing, a few weeks later it happens all over again.  That is when I am so very grateful for the majority of people in my life.

Any given day I have several people share words of encouragement, pithy quotes of wisdom.  They make up for the one who doesn't really understand where I'm coming from.  They impact my life for the better.  Scripture has a lot to say about speaking to one another.  For instance:

"A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment-- how good it is!" Proverbs 15:23

I get a lot of "joy in making an apt answer".  I try to speak as I want to be spoken to.  I seek to speak as God would have me.  But sometimes...well, sometimes I just don't pick the right words.  Or I say the right words at the wrong moment.  But "how good it is" when someone tells me I said just what they needed to hear.  Joy explodes and is its own reward.

SHOULD YOU MUZZLE IT?

Sometimes the greatest temptation on earth for me is to say what I think.  And so often what I think is not the most beneficial thing to be saying at a particular moment with a particular individual. There are times I want to answer as I've been spoken to.  There are times I want to engage and opine when what I could say would not persuade another one whit.  There are times I have answers to another's opinion that would make them think twice before telling their tales to me.  HOWEVER...

"I said, I will take heed and guard my ways, that I may sin not with my tongue; I will muzzle my mouth as with a bridle while the wicked are before me." Psalm 39:1.

Notice folks that the muzzle is like a bridle.  I want the Lord to guide my tongue, my emotions, my reasoning, and my discernment in dealing with those before me, especially when I am talking with those with whom there is no possible way one can converse.  May God keep me forever and continually pliant and yielding in His grace and humility.  I don't have all the answers.  Only He does.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008, reprint2009]

NEEDLESS WEIGHTS WE BEAR

"A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken." Proverbs 15:13

When a spirit is broken, brokenness shows itself in expressions, actions and attitudes.  Fear floods the mind with questions.  Is life bad?  Am I?

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad." Proverbs 12:25

When anxiety invades the heart with worry, fear or frustration, there is little room for lighthearted playfulness, patient understanding, gentle approaches or lips of praise.

Oh, but what an encouraging word can do!

Received or given.  Encouragement fills a heart with gladness which floods the face with cheer.  And that cheer is contagious.  What a wonderful reward for encouraging another, wouldn't you say?   

O, El Elyon, our Most High God.  Fill our hearts with joy and shield them from the desire to be weighted with the cares of this world.  Keep our minds stayed on Thee.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

OUT OF THE DEPTHS...

Does your soul cry out to God?  When you are met with the dire circumstances of life, to what or whom do you turn?  Often I turn to the people I think will support me, undergird me, encourage me.  Many times I turn to the things I can do to change a situation, to right a wrong.  But that is not where I am to turn.  First and foremost, my thoughts must turn to God.

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications...I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning--Yes, more than those who watch for the morning." Psalm 130:1, 5, 6.

In the night of our distress, it may seem futile to voice the heartache we have.  In the abyss of anguish, we may feel unworthy to call upon the Lord.  But our soul must turn to Him.  He is our stay.  He is our anchor.  And while others wait upon the world to care, the systems to act, the governments to prevail, my soul can rest in Him and in His word for consolation.  "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." Psalm 138:8.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008]

WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

Ever had times in which you felt like hiding.  Felt a bit useless?  Powerless?  Insignificant?  Wasted?  I have.  I've had moments and even hours in which I wondered what can I do?  Who do I think I am in the scheme of things?  What difference does another day of 'me' matter?  After all, I'm only one person in all of humanity.  One voice among millions.  I know many people have shared this feeling at times.  I know several people who feel this way today.  Even the great prophet, Elijah, felt this way one time, and what did he do?

"There he came to a cave and lodged in it; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:9.

We can crawl inside our caves, too.  Some folks are limited by health, by finances, by age, by education, by prejudice.  We can become so self-absorbed we only see our powerlessness.  Just as Elijah felt all alone--threatened by empty rhetoric, we can allow the rhetoric of life to claim power over us and push us into caves of insignificance.  Sadly, the reason this happens is because we weigh our significance in light of ourselves rather than the significance of our God.

Though God comes to us in our times of insignificance, we cower in our own inadequacies and mutter,  "...I only, am left...". {vs.10)  God tells us to "..go out and stand...", yet we remain in our caves.  Then after the winds, the quakes, and the fire, we finally realize our Lord is in control.  "...and after the fire a still, small voice." 1 Kings 19:11, 12.

And just as God again asks, "What are you doing here, Elijah?", God asks us...why are we cowering and trusting in ourselves?  Why are we fearful?  God has not changed.  His mere passing by, splits mountains, divides the earth and ignites a blaze.  Yet, His still, small voice commands attention of the weakest heart, the most fearful spirit, and confused mind. 

What am I doing here, Lord?  Depending on myself.  Forgive me, Lord.  Lead me on.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008] 

 

THOUGH WE ARE TRIED

  How often do we face a trial in our lives and we want out?  How many times do we commit ourselves to a task and when the task gets difficult and the way gets troublesome, we want release from our commitment?  We want to tell God how to produce the results in our lives.  We want to direct His hand.  We think the pressure is more than we can bear.  Sometimes we wonder if God even knows what we're going through.

In my life, Job always comes to mind when I am tempted to give up.  He went through far more in his lifetime than I'll ever endure.  And yet, he says:

"On the left hand where He works [I seek Him], but I cannot behold Him; He turns Himself to the right hand, but I cannot see Him.  But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it].  When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold." Job 23:9,10. [emphasis and italics mine]

Job could not see God at work in his life.  He sought him at every turn, but saw no proof of His presence; he could not comprehend his sufferings.  Yet...he trusted that God knew the way and believed when God was finished with the trying of his soul, that he would come forth refined and pure as gold.

There are times when we feel we cannot face another calamity.  We think that we've reached the end of our rope.  The water is too deep--the fire too hot.  Let us be ever mindful that God is in charge of the temperature.  He knows exactly how much we can withstand and how long we must be in the kilns of life to refine and purify us.  God knows.  He knows.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]